What's the difference between term and permanent Life Insurance coverage?

As the names imply, term life insurance provides protection for a specific period of time, such as 10 or 20 years, and permanent life insurance can remain in force throughout your life, as long as you continue to pay your premiums.

The primary advantage of term insurance is its lower initial cost compared to permanent insurance.

Term insurance is often a good choice for people in their family-raising years, especially if they are on a tight budget, because it allows them to buy high levels of coverage when the need for protection is often greatest. Term insurance is also a good option for covering needs that will disappear in time.

Remember that term insurance can, of course, be outlived. If you then want to continue to be insured, you’ll have to re-qualify, and the cost of a new term life policy at your older age will be much more expensive.

So for lifetime protection, permanent insurance is generally the better option. For that reason, it’s often a good option if you are older, and want to be sure the coverage will still be there when needed, to help pay for your final expenses. And on the other end of the spectrum, permanent insurance can also be a great option for younger people, to lock in an economical rate that will remain level even as they grow older.

In other cases, a combination of term life and permanent coverage is a good solution. Your LifeHelp agent can give you the information needed to help determine if that’s the case for you.